The Blllog™ :: Design Blog of Lain Lee 3

Getting a Daily Dose of Inspiration

2010-11-23T11:56:00.000-08:00

If you're at all like me, you're always looking for ways to be inspired, especially as a full-time creative who works from home! And if you're anything like me, inspiration can be found anywhere, as long as it's quality! Below is a list of sites that I frequent when I'm seeking out such inspiration.

1.) TheAwesomer.com

The Awesomer is a website with a great variety of material for you to be inspired by. Everything from fresh watches and gadgets to fly gear, to today's funniest videos and hottest movie trailers!

2.) CoolMaterial.com

Cool Material is another great website with an awesome collection of great gear and other stuffs.

3.) TheCoolHunter.net

Probably the coolest of the cool. While the previous sites listed cover more of the attainable "cool" that's out there, The Cool Hunter covers exclusive cool. Still a great source of inspiration for everything from fashion to furniture to office spaces.

4.) HolyCool.net

A great site for finding your next Mac gadget or that fun gift for your loved one!

5.) Gizmodo.com

You may already know of Gizmodo from the notorious Apple-gate scandal with their exposing the iPhone 4 (one of their writers got their hands on the iPhone 4 prototype left by an Apple employee at a bar, and they dissected the hell out of the thing months before it was released! Needless to say, Apple got the feds to confiscate the prototype!). Gizmodo is more tech-oriented than anything else, but still a fun read for tech geeks and gadget lovers!

6.) Devour.com

The creators of Uncrate.com bring us Devour, a symposium of today's funniest, most interesting videos. Nice idea having the video viewing page look like a modern living room. Great high-quality HD videos here.

7.) Kickstarter.com

Kickstarter.com is an amazing website where you can post an idea or project you're working on and solicit to backers to pledge money to your idea. With a minimum pledge goal of $5,000, only those with serious ideas need apply here! We've posted our project, Tic Tac Toe Ten here on Kickstarter.com! Check it out, give if you're compelled! We're trying to do great things for kids!

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Fan Film "Frozen Winter Pt. II"

2010-09-03T17:42:00.000-07:00

So if you haven't seen the Modern Warfare Fan Film, "Frozen Winter" yet, you've missed out on a rare gem! Produced by Think Big Productions and directed by Niko Pueringer & Sam Gorski, this independently produced fan film is amazing! Part I of the story was awesome, with references to COD4 written into the action. Part II however raises both the stakes and the bar to a whole new level, with bigger action sequences, better camera work, and amazing cinematography!

Also on crew was the ever-entertaining and endlessly impressive Freddie Wong! You may have already seen some of his cleverly-crafted action shorts on YouTube, but if you haven't, check out his YouTube page here!

The directors have also been so kind as to produce a behind-the-scenes video describing how they achieved some of their shots and special fx. You can check that video out here.

More than my love for awesome action/adventure flicks are phenomenally-produced indie action flicks! There aren't enough quality indie action flicks out there, and these two are a welcome pair!

12 Sites for Inspiration & Resource Every New Freelance Designer Should Know About

2010-08-16T11:49:00.000-07:00

One of the most frustrating things I can remember when starting out as a freelance designer 5 years ago was not having enough sources of inspiration to draw from, or having ready and reliable sources to go to for information and help. But then again, the Internet wasn't the same in 2005 as it is now. Now the Internet is literally oozing with information that newbs can soak up for hours and hours. But with that overload of information also comes a lot of gasheads wasting your time talking about things they don't really themselves understand, or just regurgitating, retweeting, and reposting information from more reputable sources.

With that said, I decided to compile a list for all of you newly inducted freelance designers out there of reliable sources that I've come to know and trust over the years for up-to-date information, and a source of useful tips and tricks.

1.) Smashing Magazine
Smashing Mag is a go-to source for the web's latest design trends. This informative online magazine caters to designers (both print and web) and programmers, striving to educate and inform through the use of "hit lists" and showcases. Visit Smashing Magazine

2.) Tuts+
Tuts+ is a network of tutorial websites from the Envato group. There are several sites within the network: PSDTuts for Photoshop, VectorTuts for Illustrator and other vector-based programs, AudioTuts for sound design and editing, ActiveTuts for Flash users, NetTuts for web developers and designers, AETuts for After Effects artists, PhotoTuts for photographers, CGTuts for 3D cg artists, and MobileTuts for mobile app developers. The Envato group also boasts probably the single most expansive collection of tutorial-based and informational websites on the net, with FreelanceSwitch being counted among these. Visit Tuts+

3.) FreelanceSwitch
From the Envato group comes FreelanceSwitch, an informational blog catering to freelancers of all kinds. While I don't regularly use FreelanceSwitch as a resource for design advice as much, I do frequent the site for helpful resources, tips, and an occasional chuckle from their comic strip "Freelance Freedom", illustrated by N.C. Winters. Visit FreelanceSwitch

4.) Freelance Folder
In similar fashion to FreelanceSwitch, Freelance Folder serves less as a definitive source for information on design, and more of a source for tips, resources, and helpful advice. I float between FreelanceSwitch and Freelance Folder when searching for new time-management or efficiency advice, software, or helpful tips on how to maximize my time as a freelancer. Great for helping you with day-to-day processes, getting organized, and staying on top of your business practices. Visit Freelance Folder

5.) Designers HQ
I'm still fairly new to using Designers HQ as a resource and inspiration destination, but from what I've experienced thus far, I'm thoroughly satisfied! Designers HQ is a place for resources, tips & tricks, and daily inspiration. It's a mash-up of the resources and advice columns of FreelanceSwitch and the inspiration of Smashing Mag. Great source for all of your advice and inspiration needs with frequent posts and tweets. Visit Designers HQ

6.) Noupe
Another great resource for finding collections of design tips, tutorials, resources and inspiration is Noupe. Noupe comes from the good people at Smashing Magazine, so you know you're getting the same quality and attention to "what's new" as you are from Smashing Mag. Visit Noupe

7.) The Wealthy Freelancer
The Wealthy Freelancer is a blog based on the best-selling book of the same title. The Wealthy Freelancer is an amazing book that I've just now found out about as a freelancer almost 6-years into the game. Now I'm a firm believer in everything happening in its time for its reasons, and I can read the book with 5-6 years worth of experience and still take a lot from it. It may be a little overwhelming for newbies, but if I'd had this resource when I was just starting out, I would've done things a lot differently I can tell you that! A great resource to have as a freelancer and more importantly, as an entrepreneur or self-starter! Visit The Wealthy Freelancer

8.) Abduzeedo
Straight out of Brazil, Abduzeedo puts who they are best on their "about us" page: "Abduzeedo is a collection of visual inspiration and useful tutorials." Meaning "abducted" in Portuguese, Abduzeedo brings a fresh eye to the design game, finding many fresh designs and awe-inspiring visuals (in all formats) to the table! A great place for design junkies who like all types of design: from clean and modern to raw and edgy. Visit Abduzeedo

9.) Logo Pond
Logo Pond is a great source of inspiration for logo design, a major part of my business and something you'll undoubtedly be asked to do at least once if someone finds out you're a designer. If logo design is a facet of the industry you're looking to get into, the Logo Pond is a place you should not only frequent for inspiration, but also as a platform to showcase your work! New logos are uploaded every day, so Logo Pond is a ready source of daily inspiration. Visit Logo Pond

10.) Behance
Behance is probably one of the two most well-known sources of inspiration on the web right now. A great portfolio-based website for not only showcasing your own work but for checking out what other people are doing around the world! Some amazing talents out there to be seen! Be careful not to lose hours here though...it's very easy to! The Behance Network also boasts a fantastic free project-management application (for web and iPhone) called Action Method. I actively use Action Method on several projects and as a way of keeping ideas in order. Action Method also comes in the form of fresh & functional office supplies called Action Products. Visit Behance

11.) Deviant Art
Another website that's been around for a long time and is probably the second of the two most well-known sources of showcase/inspiration on the web right now! Deviant Art has expanded their capabilities now, however, to where you can take your art and sell it as a t-shirt print, art print, or other fun products. Deviant Art is also a great place to find free templates for Photoshop and Illustrator from generous and talented artists who share their work with the world. I recently found some great iPhone4 templates there that have been helpful with mocking up designs for clients. Visit Deviant Art

12.) TED.com
TED.com is a FANTASTIC source for free, online lectures, but more importantly, it's a FANTASTIC resource for advice and inspiration. There is a reason I chose to place TED.com at #12 on the list, and it's not because it's the bottom. No, this is actually the #1 spot on my list, because of what TED.com has to offer. Many of us don't have the luxury of being able to attend a lot of the wonderful conferences that are going on where we could network and talk-shop and hear great minds talk about the things we find interesting and helpful. Many of us can't even afford to go to college to hear stimulating lectures. Being called "The New Harvard", TED's online lectures are a jewel, and it would behoove you to take a look at the hundreds of lectures they have on there. Each lecturer has 18 minutes to divulge their souls to the audience (a time limit set by TED's founder, Richard Saul Wirman (Fast Company, Set. 2010 Issue, page 82). Everyone from designers to architects to film directors lectures at TED, and it's a great source of inspiration for anyone looking to be...well...inspired! Visit TED.com

In summation, this list is in no way comprehensive! There are hundreds, if not thousands, of wonderful websites out there for finding daily inspiration and entrepreneurial advice, tips, and tricks. What are some of your favorites? Which ones did I leave out here? Leave a comment with some links and I'll consider including them in my next "hit list" post!

It's Been A Minute...

2010-07-01T00:02:00.000-07:00

So what's good folks? It's been quite the eventful summer so far, and I can only pray that it'll continue to get busier, crazier, and more challenging! And since it's been a good couple of months since I've posted anything here, I thought I'd give you a brief recap/update on where I've been and where I'm going!

MAYMay was an interesting month. Spent most of the month designing for my homie Brandon for his new company Live Love Learn, LLC. Brandon is one of the smartest and most down-to-earth cats I've ever had the privilege of knowing, and he's got a fly new iPhone/iPad app called Tic Tac Toe Ten. It's a fresh new game that borrows the look and functionality of classic tic tac toe ten, but has a whole new twist to the game. You can check out the game and how to play here at www.tictactoeten.com! I also spent some time redesigning my site, www.lainlee3design.com, which is in the process of being programmed and will be up hopefully by August 2010!!! Stay tuned!

In terms of graphic work, I finished some graphic work for the homies at Joint Medias, did a new t-shirt design for a returning client, and finished a few logos. I'll post links when they're available!

JUNE
June was that one month I usually get a year when everything seems to happen at the same time! I accompanied Brandon and our buddy Brian to Memphis, Tennessee (or Tennekee as we heard it called) for the 2010 National PTA convention, where we promoted T10! (or Tic Tac Toe Ten). You can check out some of the footage we captured here.

June also marked a month that I learned a huge lesson about freelancer/client relations. Though the situation was less-than-favorable, I emerged with a much better knowledge of how to handle certain types of clients and what procedures I need to follow to avoid or screen for said clients.

In June, I finished a few videos for Joint, a few logos for various clients, and hooked up a very special project for a special young lady! Again, links will be provided when available!

Okay y'all, hope that helps! Hopefully my next post will come from my NEW SITE!

Peace,
~ Lain 3

Daily Inspiration

2010-04-30T18:06:00.000-07:00

So I've been itching to do another short film this year, and it's just so nice to find inspirational short films by passionate filmmakers around the web! Check some of them out!

The Raven by Ricardo de Montreuil

The Gift by Carl Erik Rinsch

Carousel by Adam Berg

Aaaaah....INSPIRED!

Peace,
~ L3

My Buddy Chris

2010-04-24T10:23:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to give my buddy Chris Riedell a little shout out for doing BIG THANGS! Chris is an aspiring actor. We went to high school together for a couple years, and since then he's been steadily getting bigger and bigger gigs - Dockers print ads in SF, Toyota Prius commercial, and now an HP commercial! Check him out! Keep it up Chris, can't wait to see you in the movies someday pal!

Happy Monday, Fresh Inspiration!

2010-04-12T13:06:00.000-07:00

As children of the 80s, this fresh video from One More Productions is one I think we can all dig and appreciate! Pacman, Space Invaders, and Tetris all make dope cameos in this vid!

Enjoy,
~ Lain 3

A Trip Back to My Childhood

2010-03-19T10:45:00.000-07:00

Any of you guys remember these shows??? These ALL helped to contribute to the creativity and imagination my brother and I grew up developing! I remember weekday mornings before school and Saturdays watching these shows with my bro! Now, I know everyone remembers Duck Tales, Rescue Rangers, Darkwing Duck, and all of those shows! I'm posting ones that are deeply imbedded in your memories, the shows that were there but didn't exactly stick. Oh man, good times though!

Anywho, ENJOY! >_•

Samurai Pizza Cats

Bucky O' Hare and the Toad Menace

Mighty Max

SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron

The Real Adventures of Johnny Quest

Silver Hawks

Brave Starr

Visionaries

Where On Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors

M.A.S.K.

Bionic 6

Okay, I thinks that's enough! There's SO much more to explore on YouTube, especially from RetroJunk.com! Check it out!

5 Things I Intend to Do Differently This Time As A Freelancer

2010-03-19T09:36:00.000-07:00

So if anyone out there who is on my e-newsletter mailing list read my March Update, they will know that I recently made the decision to step back into full-time freelance. This decision came after much consideration and "personal reflection", after which I fully realized and understood that this is what I was meant to do! However, jumping back into the driver's seat as a full-time freelancer means that there have to be several major changes in the way I did things first time around. The following is my personal checklist of the top five things I am aiming to change about my freelance career!

1) Treat My Days As A 9-5

The first thing you're tempted to do as a freelancer who gets to set their own schedule is get side-tracked, especially since you spend almost every waking moment on the computer. But it's not just the computer that can distract you. Luckily, I have no kids yet, but my first time around freelancing I still lived at home with the rest of my fam. I remember how easy it was for them to come to me with errands to run and time slots to fill for them. "My appointment went a little over. Can you go (insert task here) for me?" It's not that I minded doing things for family, not at all. But when you have your own business, with deadlines to meet and clients to please, there has to be a line drawn between work time and family time.

Now this is not to say that you should be a zombie chained to your desk and ignore your familial duties. Instead, the simple solution would be to organize your time, and treat your days as a 9-5. I remember listening to a podcast on Freelanceswitch.com's Freelance Radio about a typical freelance day, and some of the freelancers suggested this method of coping with your day-to-day grind. In essence, it simply helps you to stay productive, because as a self-employed professional, it's so easy to slack off and let time slip away from you.

But it also helps you to not allow yourself to be overwhelmed by your work. The other side to freelancing is that we don't have to "clock out", so those of us who're truly passionate about our work tend to go overboard and work into the wee hours of the night and let our work spill over into our weekends. This is great at first, and you get a lot of work done of course. But eventually, unless you're an extremely disciplined person, this overloaded working lifestyle catches up to you. I remember doing this at one point the first time around. It bogged me down to the point where I wanted to give up freelancing for the entire summer. But after taking a two-week vacation from work, doing some personal projects, and breathing a little, I was ready to get back into it.

As a freelancer, this podcast was so informative for me. There's really no formula for structuring your day, as Kristen Fischer puts it. It makes it easier to structure your day around what you have to do, as well as throwing in some non-work-related things into your agenda (to break the monotony). If you have time, I greatly suggest you listen to the podcast! Thank you to freelanceswitch.com and Jon Brougher for providing us with this wonderful resource!

2) Utilize Social Media to the Fullest

This is something I TOTALLY missed out on the first time around. And I found out that there's a reason for that. My personality, by nature, is to shy away from what's popular. It took me years to finally try a Starbucks beverage, or (throwback alert) sign up for a Myspace account. It's nothing against any of those things, I just don't like to be so quick to jump on the bandwagon when everyone's making such a huge fuss over things, people, places, movies....whatever! But there is, conversely, a drawback to being this way. And that is you sometimes miss out on opportunities, simply based on your prejudices.

As a freelancer, you have to be on a constant grind, and constantly hustle! If you're driven by passion, this is all the more fun! But if you're so prejudiced and closed to the idea of accepting something new, even if it is popular and extremely annoying (thank you CNN for ruining Twitter and Facebook), you might be missing out on some truly rewarding opportunities. Social media is boundless in its ability to expand you career as a freelancer, if you utilize it right and harness its power for good, not evil! The biggest reward to using social media is its ability to connect you with people from all over the world and exponentially expand your network of creative professionals! You get to see what other people are doing, get inspired and excited by others' work, and inspire others with your work. Through social networks, you are able to network and connect with people in your field, share trade secrets, tips, resources, and links. And in many cases, social networks provide you with a free outlet to promote your work and business, and can even help you earn money!

This is why, since the New Year, I have been strategically signing up for social networks that I feel will help me get my name and work out there, and possibly (hopefully) bring more people back my way. I set up a fan page through Facebook, set up my blog, The Blllog™, here through Blogger, joined the largest social networking site for professionals, LinkedIn, and rejoined Elance, one of the largest freelancing job sites. Now, Twitter was one of those things where I've shied away from it for as long as possible because of all the commotion it caused last year. But after reading this article over at Creative Nerds, I'm considering it! Stay tuned for an update on that.

3) E-Newsletters, Tutorials, & Freebies

It's not enough as a freelancer to only stay connected with your network of constituents, clients, colleagues and friends. Getting people interested is only half the battle (calm down 80s nerds, that was only slightly intended to be a G.I. Joe ref). No, you also have to put content out there that will keep them coming back on their own frequently and put the hunger in their bellies to want to come back for more. I look at all of the blogs, shops and e-zines that I frequent on a regular basis. If they didn't constantly update their sites with fresh content, there'd be nothing new for me to get excited about, and thus no reason to want to return to their sites as often as I do. But instead, sites that I regularly check out like Freelanceswitch.com, SmashingMagazine.com, JohnnyCupcakes.com, Tutsplus.com, TheCoolHunter.net, and Abduzeedo.com all keep me coming back for more with frequent and regular updates, fresh content, and loads of eye candy to take care of my creative sweet tooth. GoMedia's GoMediazine.com also has a lot of great content for creatives, but it's not updated as regularly as one would hope. Another bonus is that most of these sites are loaded with links to other creative stuffs, which only serves to help you expand your knowledge of what's out there.

As I wrap up the design of my new website, I'm putting into the framework a section for downloads and a small "shop" where budding new designers can grab some cheap and/or free vectors, textures, stock photos, etc. for their first design projects. I'm also thinking of offering some tutorials here on the blog, but those will go up as time permits. I've already started sending out e-newsletters through MailChimp, one of the dopest email newsletter services I've come across to date! These are just some of the ways I've been brainstorming about to keep people wanting to come back for more. If you have any additional ideas, please let us know by leaving a comment! If you'd like to sign up to receive my e-newsletter, click here!

4) Getting Organized

So yes...I'm a creative professional. And as such, I'm predisposed to being a wee bit disorganized. Okay, maybe that's not the case for all creative pro's, but it certainly is in mine! Haha!

That is why I've employed the help of some great online project management services to keep me on track. Personally, I've used BaseCamp before, which although it was a fantastic service and really helped me look professional, you couldn't send out invoices or email quotes at the time. It's also not quite financially feasible for beginner freelancer. I also had a Freshbooks account to handle my accounting needs. Although Freshbooks was free, it would've been more than worth paying for a monthly subscription. Eventually though, I found that it didn't quite meet my professional needs, and while perusing the Freelanceswitch.com Resource Page, I came across an online-based project management solution for "rockstar freelance designers". Subernova is just what I needed at an affordable price. At just $5.99/month, I can project manage my clients, projects, and accounts all from one easy-to-use online app, as well as send out email invoices, quotes, and overdue payment reminders. AND, it comes with a time-tracker with built in fee calculator, and an iPhone app so I can PM on the go as well! In the end, it all boils down to preference and what works best for you. There are plenty of solutions out there, so don't give up!

5) Not Getting Overwhelmed

This kind of goes along with point number one, and sort of brings the list around full-circle. As I said before, it's very easy as a freelancing creative professional to get so caught up in the work you're passionate about that, before you know it, you're overwhelmed. And it's not the work that's overwhelming you. No, quite the contrary. If you seriously reevaluated the way you manage your time, you'd see that can actually handle a lot of work. Instead, the problem is not giving yourself enough time to be yourself, be a human and not a drone - that's what's overwhelming you.

Last time around, I was working about 14 hours a day on the computer, 7 days a week. On top of that, I would try fitting in time for family, friends, girlfriend, errands, and activities (I coached a youth team). Then, I was blessed with the great opportunity of working on a music video for my friend Bobby Bishop called "Please". Even though it's one of the best projects I've done to date, I seriously underestimated the time and commitment it would be to complete the project, and by the time it was done, so was I! "Man, I think I'm gonna take the summer off from freelancing!" As much as I wanted to, I realized that this would hurt me more than it would help me. But the real problem was that I just overwhelmed myself with too many hours and not enough breaks!

As a creative who spends nearly all of their time behind a computer screen, we need to schedule in time to be humans, you know? You need to make sure you get off of the computer for a while every day - go to the gym, for a walk, shopping, out to a movie, or just go to another room in the house and spend time with the wife, kids, or Xbox (the other woman, haha)! If you don't, you'll end up driving yourself damn near crazy when your brain is over-pixelated!

Conclusion
So that's it! In this first week of being back in the full-time game, those are the top 5 priorities in my professional life right now. The biggest challenge is of course to not fall back into old, bad habits. But I know that with vigilance, I can stick to my guns, and with patience, hard work, diligence, and passion, success is only right around the corner.

I'd love to hear what you thought of my first "reflective" article. Leave me some feedback in the comments section below if you have any questions or comments. If you have any inquiries about work projects, please feel free to shoot them to me at lainlee3design@gmail.com.

Last Call Puts Character's Fate in Viewer's Hands

2010-03-10T23:43:00.000-08:00

For years now, many of us have enjoyed being scared by horror and suspense movies. And without fail, we all have caught ourselves at some point pleading with the protagonist in the film to head our warnings and not "go in there!" And for years, those warnings have gone unheeded by the main characters, who always end up getting themselves in trouble because curiosity got the best of them, as did the villain. But now, thanks to 13th Street Cinema, the viewer has more say in the matter.

Their latest film, Last Call, claims to be the first interactive horror movie, in which audience participants are called upon (literally) to help decide the main character's fate. Here's how it works: Audience members are prompted to register their cell phone numbers with the company's database at the beginning of the screening. The "computers" then randomly select one number to call at some point in the movie where the main character makes a last ditch phone call for help. Using voice recognition software, the audience member can then answer the onscreen protagonist's questions such as, "Which way? Left or right?" and "Should I help or keep going?". As the computer recognizes key words in the audience member's responses, it then plays scenes that correspond with his or her answers. For instance, if he/she tells the onscreen actor to turn right, a scene in which the actor turns right will play seamlessly. Peep the video below for a demonstration.

I'm not a big horror movie fan, but I SO want to give this a shot and try it out! It seems like it'd be crazy fun, and for someone who loves the experience of going to a movie and sitting in the theater with other people who enjoy it as much as I do, I know it'll be a blast!

Making of 'The Book of Eli' Featurette

2010-03-10T23:24:00.000-08:00

For me, it's more about what goes on behind the scenes that's fun than what you see on screen! Here's a look at the making of The Book of Eli, starring Denzel Washington.

Chris Nolan to take reins of new Superman Movie!

2010-03-10T23:15:00.000-08:00

Saw this on Yahoo!'s homepage today and got really excited! As you may or may not know, Christopher Nolan is the visionary director behind The Prestige (one of the greatest movies ever), Memento, and the soon to be released Inception, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. He is also the man behind the camera of some of our times biggest superhero blockbusters, namely Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.

Nolan is preparing to help another famed superhero back on his feet. Superman took a huge hit at the hands of Bryan Singer and the writers behind Superman Returns, one of the most emasculating depictions of Superman on film to date! Now, Nolan and his writing partner, David Goyer, are getting ready to revive the Superman franchise with a fresh take on the Man of Steel's story!

I cannot wait to see where this goes! I used to be a HUGE Superman fan, but sort of fell off a bit as Warner Bros. continued to humanize him in both TV and film. And then, after Superman Returns, I was completely done! But now, at the hands of Nolan and his creative team, I am confident the Kryptonian's return will be a triumphant one!

To read the complete LA Times interview, click here.

Peace,
~ L3

IRON MAN 2, NEW TRAILER!!!

2010-03-09T10:36:00.000-08:00

I'm sure you've already seen it elsewhere, but here it is!!! The new trailer for Iron Man 2! Out of all of the superhero movies out there, Spiderman (1&2), Batman (Begins & Dark Knight) and finally Iron Man have been the best! And that is for one SIMPLE reason that I've stated in previous blog posts - they all have great stories that revolve around character development!

This movie looks sick, hands down! Not only do you have amazing actors in their appropriate roles (minus Sam Jackson as Nick Fury, still think they could've done WAY better than that), but an amazing storyline and action sequences to accompany them! I mean, Iron Man and War Machine (JAAAM Don Cheadle!) fighting an army of Iron Men?!? Frickin' awesome! Mickey Rourke, whom I've never been too much of a fan of even though I heard he gave an amazing performance in The Wrestler, looks like he's finally stepped up his acting game! Scarlett Johansen....eh...we'll see. And Sam Rockwell, never disappoints! And while I thought AVATAR was an amazing film (truly stunning), there's something to me that is equally as satisfying when you can mix CGI with live action and have it blend so seamlessly that it feels real!

My hat's off to the ever-amazing Jon Favereau for his envelope-pushing, awe-inspiring, not-too-over-the-top, overly-machismo action film directing (that's right Micheal Bay, that was a shot at you)! Looks like he's outdone himself again without overdoing what already worked!

I know the proof is in the pudding and we'll have to wait another month or so to see if IM2 really holds up to its own reputation, but I'm mad excited and can't wait to see this film!

Peace,
~ Lain 3

New Gorillaz Video

2010-03-09T09:28:00.000-08:00

So despite their very dark nature, I've always respected the Gorillaz for two simple reasons: (1) they're always pushing the envelope with their music and (2) their videos are always mad creative, very inspirational for a creative person! Their newest video, Stylo, from their latest release Plastic Beach is nothing short of that! The video features a dope car chase scene, CGI Gorillaz (minus Russell), and wait for it...BRUCE WILLIS!!! Peep it here! Unfortunately, embedding has been disabled by request, and out of respect for that request, I won't upload it here either. So check the link y'all, here it is again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9vAOzYz-Qs

Peace,
~ L3

Hilarious Old Spice Commercial!!!

2010-02-17T21:27:00.000-08:00

I'm on a horse!?

Please on Zune

2010-02-08T16:00:00.000-08:00

So I got such a shock yesterday! While perusing Microsoft's Zune Marketplace on XBOX Live, I decided to do a search for some of the artists I'd done music videos for over the years. To my unbelievable surprise, I found the music video I'd done for Bobby Bishop there!!!! Pretty cool seeing your work pop up in places you'd never expected, you know? I only pray that this opportunity produces fruit. I knew that "Please" had played nationally on the Gospel Music Channel and other Christian stations, but it's really cool to see it on a national, no international scale where people all over the world can download it! Pretty sweet!

If you download the Zune application, you can buy "Please" on Zune here. If you do so, you can watch it both on your computer and XBOX console. Or, you can watch it for free here, haha!

Peace,
~ L3

Oh My Mind-Grapes...

2010-02-08T14:21:00.000-08:00

In the past, I've watched the Super Bowl for one of two reasons: to root on The Steelers, or because I was bored and I wanted to catch the ads! Last year however, I found that there was something greater than the ads to watch...the movie trailers! And even though I didn't catch the Super Bowl yesterday, I was blessed enough to still catch wind of one of my most highly anticipated films OF ALL TIME - The Last Airbender!

I was completely enamored with this cartoon, and will argue with anyone that it was one of the dopest cartoons of my generation (and us 80's babies have had some really cool cartoons come out in our lifetime)! Avatar, The Last Airbender, is the story of Ang, the last remaining member of the monk tribe of Airbenders, who also happens to be the next Avatar, or chosen master of all four elements. The world Ang lives in, while very similar to earth, is a fantastic one where the world's inhabitants are divided into 4 nations. Each nation has people within it that can manipulate, command, and control one of the earth's four elements - water, fire, earth, and air. The fire nation, much like the element itself, seeks to consume the world and control all four kingdoms. To do so, it declares war on the world. When Ang learns that he is to be the next Avatar, he runs away from the Southern Air Temples where he lives to free himself of his impending responsibilities, only to get caught in a violent storm. To keep himself and his flying Bison, Appa, from drowning, Ang cocoons he and Appa inside of a giant air bubble in the freezing arctic waters.

100 years later, Ang is discovered by two children from the Northern Water Tribes - Saka and Katara. Seeing all of the destruction and anguish that has overtaken the world at the hands of the Fire Nation, Ang soon realizes that he has no other choice but to master the four elements and embrace his destiny as the world's next Avatar.

What made this show so compelling was not just the beautiful animation, nor was it the exotic world Ang lived in or the ridiculously inventive fight/battle sequences. Instead, it was the development of the story and the characters as they journeyed from children into warriors. Every aspect of the journey was covered in detail - their relational development, their emotional and spiritual development, and even their physical and tactical development! A few years ago, my good friend Cedrick and I wrote a feature-length script for a movie. We spent our entire summer that year, day in and day out, writing this script. When we had finished, we'd spent 6 months and gone through 7 revisions/rewrites before we were ready to submit it for final approval. We learned many things that summer about working with other creative people, having creative differences of opinion, and dealing with creative criticism. But the most important lesson we learned, one that will never leave me as long as I live, is that without solid characters and a solid story, you have nothing!

Avatar, The Last Airbender, is one of those shows with a phenomenal story and solid characters that comes along once every 100 years (pun)! I truly believe that many filmmakers, aspiring and established, can learn a lot from this show when it comes to story and character development! The shows creators, Michael Dante DiMartino and Brian Konietzko, did an outstanding job with the series, and I only hope and pray that M. Night Shyamalan (The 6th Sense, Signs, Lady in the Water) can capture the shows greatness on the big screen! And judging from what I saw yesterday, I'm feeling PRETTY GOOD!

Peace,
~ L3

FREEZE OR I'LL CHOP YOUR HEAD OFF!

2010-02-01T12:20:00.000-08:00

Do you like mustaches, flutes, dinosaurs, robots, avocados with sunglasses, or babies with unicorn horns? If you answered yes to any of the above, then you'll LOVE AXE COP, a web-based comic strip by an amazing artist named Ethan Nicolle (29) and his 5 year-old little brother Malachi Nicolle. Malachi comes up with the amazing and often bizarre happenings in Axe Cop's world and Ethan brings them to life! Each epi is beautifully illustrated and highly entertaining to read! It's great when children are allowed to explore their creativity and let their minds wander freely!

You can check out more of Ethan's work at www.ethannicolle.com.

Enjoy!
L3

Virtual Jam Session

2010-01-29T16:51:00.000-08:00

Don't mean to regurgitate posts from elsewhere on the net, but saw this over at Gizmodo and thought it was too fresh not to post. Being a hip hop head, I love fresh music, especially when live instruments are played to replicate that vintage sampled sound. There's so much good music out there people, for real. Turn off your radios and stop being spoon-fed whackness!

Bless.

Bill Gates vs. Steve Jobs - Part Deux

2010-01-28T12:16:00.000-08:00

The guys over at Supernews really have a unique sense of humor! Saw this on Current this morning and thought it was pretty funny. I see neither Gates nor Jobs really being this way, and think each has helped introduce many innovative ideas to society over the years. But I kinda do think the competition has to be there, although I'm totally a Mac now! Lol!

Enjoy.

Sneak Peek, Active Balanced Music Video

2010-01-20T18:42:00.000-08:00

So as you may have seen from either my website, Vimeo.com page, or Facebook pages, I'm working on a new music video for my close friend Othello - emcee extraordinaire and just downright good dude. We're about 1/2 way done with the video. We shot Othello back in September of '09 up in Portland, OR. on he and his family's last two nights in town, so shooting was a bit frantic. We had to sneak in shooting time in-between packing the family truck and cleaning house, etc. But despite all of this, Othello & his fam were HUGE sports and helped us pull off an amazing shoot! You can see the first edit of the video here on my Vimeo.com page.

I also wanted to take a second to show some love to a new homie I met through Othello - Josh over at Sphere of Hip Hop. Josh is a one-man show running a dope & rather comprehensive website. I've heard of SOHH for a few years now, and unless he had told me so himself, never would've guessed it was him holding it down solo. Josh has been gracious enough to post a spot about the new "Active Balanced" Othello video over there, so if you have a sec, check out our vid and then stick around and check out what else Josh's got on the site! Dope design & logo, so you know I was hooked!

Peace,
~ L3

The Blllog™ Review of "The Book of Eli"

2010-01-18T20:05:00.000-08:00

When it comes to movies that have a spiritual theme as the focal point, I'm usually a little iffy about the outcome. Movies that deal with spirituality are usually messy in their overall message and in the execution of that message, and in my experience, ironically end up missing the point of conveying the spirituality it represents. I'm referring in this case mostly to movies dealing with Biblical themes, such as the upcoming "Legion". Such was not the case in any way, shape, or form with the Hughes Brothers' "The Book of Eli".

"Eli" is the perfect example of how Hollywood can make a hard-hitting action movie involving a Biblical theme, without compromising the integrity of the message for the sake of "not offending anyone". The film revolves around the main character, Eli (Denzel Washington), a strong and silent warrior on a mission from God.

One of the things that immediately attracted me to the story was that it didn't come off as a conviction of those who do not share a belief in God, which is good because it allows people to be enveloped by the story and not be immediately turned off by a belief system that is not their own. It also affords the message (which is completely subjective) to genuinely embed itself within the willing heart and mind, instead of being force fed, which often leads to resentment or rejection. It approached telling a story about one man's mission from God and his faith the same way that Eli shared his faith, by living his beliefs without having to communicate them.  His character was a firm believer, but was no missionary or evangelist.  He lived the Word, and shared his faith with the young lady in the film only by showing her how he lived.  It was a true testament to living out the Word and walking out your faith through actions.

Secondly, even though he was called a "walker" and had been on his journey from God for over 30 years, he wasn't walking without guidance.  God told him some years ago what his purpose was, as he attests that he "heard the voice as clearly as I hear yours, but it came from inside of me."  But he didn't get up and just start walking one day.  He is LISTENING to God's voice daily and following as he is lead.  Every step is premeditated and ordained.  He even had no idea where he would find his "book". God led him to it.  And it is God who continually leads him on his journey to fulfill his purpose.  ANOTHER deep testament to his faith, and the faith that I seek to have on a daily basis.  It reminds me of the sentiment, "It's not the goal, but the journey," a sentiment exemplified tremendously in another great movie, Peaceful Warrior.

And finally, as you will see, it was amazing that because of his faith, devotion, and sacrifice (because since he was around before "the war" and remembered "how things were"), God protected him on his journey.  He was a marvelous, fluid, and skilled fighter, his senses were keener, and at times, even bullets couldn't touch him.  Yet another testament to how one's faith can help you achieve the impossible (Luke 18:27).

Denzel Washington did an amazing job portraying the role of Eli. So many choices were made, one can easily observe, in the way Eli acts, walks, talks, prays, reads, holds his gun, that to truly appreciate it I feel you will have to see the film more than once. And one cannot truly appreciate what I'm talking about until you know "all" about Eli, which is why I shall say no more.

What was most refreshing about "Eli" was how, even though the Hughes Bros. made some adjustments to the initial script to be respectful to its audience and make sure it wasn't too "preachy", it did not "cop out" or compromise the integrity of the message. It actually followed the example of its main character, and allowed its actions to speak louder than its words. There is so much that can be drawn from Eli's subtleties that exude humility and demonstrate what a true chosen warrior of God acts like, without him seeming "too good" to be seen with others. In my opinion, Eli walked the true path of righteousness, one that many believers today can learn from. He did not remove himself from the world to stay focused on his God-given mission, but instead operated within the "secular" world and remained purified and resolute by making the right choices to stay focused. He even had to continually remind himself, "Stay on the path...this is not your fight," when confronted with dilemmas of whether or not to help others in need. Eli very much reminded me of a Paul-type character, one who never held his beliefs over your head to condemn you, but instead focused on himself and leading you to God through his actions. And while Eli's was not a missionary quest, he still touched the hearts and minds of others, and shared his faith with them through his actions.

I truly commend the Hughes Bros. for making such a beautiful movie! The cinematography was amazing! As an aspiring filmmaker, you learn to find the subtle nuances in the way a movie is filmed, and appreciate even the most minute choices in the way a shot is composed, composited, and framed. The fight sequences were beautifully choreographed and the action sequences were intense without being overdone (no "Baysplosions")*. There were no gratuitous nudity or unnecessary sex scenes, nothing to deter the story from it's main message and intent. The story was well thought-out and told from beginning to end, leaving you subtle clues as to what the film's major twist was at the end (if "Eli" is water-cooler banter this week DO NOT LISTEN! Spoiler Alert!!!). Both Denzel and Gary Oldman give amazing performances, as per usual, and Ms. Kunis does not do that bad of a job either, holding her own against two acting powerhouses! And finally, the soundtrack was unique, refreshing, and truly captured the atmosphere of the post-apocolyptic world of Eli. Overall...amazing!

I know this is not a full-fledged review, and many would even call it one-sided, but who cares! Lol! This is a blog about what I find interesting, cool, fresh, and etc. I'd love to hear what others think, and would very much like to share more about my experience seeing "Eli", but unfortunately can't do that without ruining the whole movie for you! And there's nothing like going into a film to experience it for yourself. So, if you were on the fence about going to see this movie, or maybe heard of it and thought it sounded interesting, or maybe you just need a movie to go see, let me give you that final push - GO SEE "ELI"! It's a gritty, moving, suspenseful epic, full of action and mystery, that more than keeps your attention til the very end!

It's About Time

2010-01-16T00:13:00.001-08:00

What's good fam? Well I'm finally live on my first blog! I know I know, where have I been right? Not important. What is important is that I'm here, I'm ready to rock the new year so hard, and make this the beginning of something amazing for Lain Lee 3 Design.

So stay tuned folks! Many more idle thoughts and random happenings bound to go down here on the Blllog™. Thanks for stopping by!

Peace,

~ L3

PS: My brother just came from The Book of Eli and said it was "off da freakin' hook!" Haha! Can't wait to see that joint!